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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 1. S. O. PALMER.

HAT FORMING MACHINE.

No. 415,217. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

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(No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2. S. O. PALMER.

HAT FORMING MACHINE.

No. 415,217. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

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S. G. PALMER. HAT FORMING MACHINE. No. 415,217. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

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S; G. PALMER. HAT FORMING MACHINE.

(No Model.)

Patented'Nov. 19, 1889.

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HAT FORMING MACHINE. v No. 415,217. Patented Nov. 19, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SEYMOUR O. PALMER, OF SOUTH NORU ALK, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO ELLEN M. PALMER AND ALDEN SOLMANS, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

HAT-FORMING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 415,217, dated November 19, 1889.

Application filed May 23, 1889. Serial No. 311,833. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: shaft. Fig. I shows the rope adapted to be 50 Be it known that I, SEYMOUR O. PALMER, a operated by hydraulic means. Figs. and 7 citizen of the United States, residing at South show the rope connected as shown at Fig. 1,

Norwalk, in the county of Fairfield and State but controlled and operated by foot-power;

5 of Connecticut, have invented certain new and and Fig. 6, a section at the line x :0 of Fig. 1.

useful Improvements in Hat -Forming Ma- Similar letters denote like parts in the se'v- 55 chines; and I do hereby declare the following era'l figures of the drawings. to be a full, clear, and exact description of the A is the dipping-tub, and B the cone-supinvention, such as will enable others skilled porting platform having a bail O. This bail in the art to whichit appertains to make and projects loosely through guide-ears D,secured use the same. to the tub and has formed at the top an eye E. ()0

My invention relates to hat-forming ma- J ournaled in suitable hangers F is a shaft chines of the general construction and opera- G, having thereon loose pulley H, which latter tion shown and described in my Letters Patis constantly revolved by means of any suitcut of the United States, No. 399,551, issued able driving-belt. (Not shown.) At one end March 12, 1889. The operation of dipping the of this shaft is secured a crank I, having prohats had always been performed by hand unjecting laterally at its outer end a pin J, til I invented the machine shown and dearound which latter is swiveled an eye K, sescribed in said patent, and I am therefore the cured on the end of a rope U, the other end 20 pioneer in the art of automatically dipping thereof being attached within the eye E of hats. This being the case, and realizing that the bail C, so that it will be readily undermyinvention is of great value to the batmanstood that at each revolution of the crank ufacturers, I desire to protect myself as the platform B will have been lowered and against piracy and possible evasion of my raised, for the purpose presently explained.

25 patented invention; and the object of my It is essential that the platform should represent invention is to protect myself in the main in elevated position after dipping until use of automatically-controlled mechanism the substitution of a subsequent cone, and for dipping a hat, wherein the connection betherefore I have illustrated various clutch tween the cone-supporting platform and the devices and trippingmechanisms whereby the 30 motive power is not a rigid rod, but is a rope movement of the shaft G is controlled to efor any suitable cable. feet the proper movements of said platform My present invention consists in suspendat the proper time. ing the cone-supporting platform from arope In Fig. 1, L is a collar rigid on the shaft G, or cable, the latter being run over a pulley or and having extending laterally therethrough 5 drum and connected with any suitable means the clutch-pin M, adapted to slide freely in its for raising or lowering said rope or cable. bearings within said collar. A spring N, se-

As various mechanisms may be utilized to cured to the collar and bearing directly draw up or pay out the rope, and as I do not against the pin, serves to throw the latter fordesire to be circumscribed by the use of any ward. O is a trip attached to one of the hang- 4c particular mechanism for this purpose, I have ers F so as to have a free vertical movement,

made my drawings extensive and elaborate, and having an inclined heel P extending so that the fundamental merits of my inventherefrom across the face of the collar L and tion will be readily understood. within the field of travel of the head Q of In the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation said pin. R is a lever pivoted to this hanger 45 illustrating my invention, wherein the rope F, the upper end of said lever having an L is connected to a revoluble crank and to the shape, which latter engages a pin S, project- 5 hail of the cone-supporting platform; Figs. 2 ing from the upper end of the trip O. In and 3, similar views showing the rope running normal position the head Q of the pin is held over an ordinary pulley tight on a re'voluble retracted against the resiliency of the spring N by means of the heel P of the trip, and when it is desired to dip the cone the lever B is pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow, thus elevating the trip and permitting the spring N to throw the pin M within one of the several recesses T in the hub of the wheel H, thereby imparting motion to the shaft G. WVhen the collar L has nearly completed a revolution, the head Q will strike against the inclined heel P and thereby be forced back to normal position, thus withdrawing the pin'M from engagement with the wheel H.

The above-described clutch and tripping mechanism is well known and is in common use in various classes of machinery.

In Fig. 2 the bail of the platform B is suspended by a rope U, coiled around a pulley V on the shaft G, and power is communicated from the pulley H to the shaft G by means of crown-clutches W, secured one to the hub of the pulley H and the other to a collar X, splined on the shaft G and actuated by the ordinary lever R. On the shaft G is secured a drum Y, around which is wound a rope Z, to the end of which is attached a weight A, which is heavier than the weight suspended by the rope U. B is a cord securedat the lower end to the bail C, and at the upper end run through an eye 0, extending from the hanger F, and attached to the lever B. The position of the various parts being as is shown in Fig. 2, the revolution of the pulley H in the direction indicated by the arrow will uncoil the rope U from the pulley V, and simultaneously wind the rope Z on the drum Y, thus lowering the platform B and dipping the cone, and also elevating the weight A. The cord B is of such length that when the platform has been sufficiently lowered a side draft will be exerted on the lever B to disengage the clutches W, whereupon the weight A will descend by gravity and elevate the platform to normal position until the movement of the latter is'arrested by the ears D.

In Fig. 3 I have shown two pulleys H revolving loosely on the shaft G in opposite directions, and the collar X is provided with clutches on both sides, adapted by the movement of the lever R to be engaged alternately with clutches on the adjacent hubs of said pulleys. 111 this construction the weight A" is merely an equipoise, the dipping of the cone being effected by means of the pulleys H. Pivoted to the lower end of the hanger F is a lever D, which is forked throughout the free end, as shown at G ,so as to embrace. the rod R and the rope U. E is a button secured to the rope U and adapted to elevate the lever D, for the purpose presently explained. When the collar X is engaged with the pulley shown at the leftin Fig. 3, the motion imparted to the shaft G will cause the rope U to' be uncoiled from the pulley V, and the platform B will thus be lowered until the cord B pulls the lever B and throws the collar X into engagement with the other pulley, which revolves in a direction reverse to thatof the previously-described pulley. The rope Uwill now be coiled on the pulley V, and the platform will be elevated until the button E has carried the lever D so that the crotch in the fork of said lever will have abutted against the lever B and forced the same to of a cylinder H, within which runs an ordi-.

nary piston I, the rope which suspends the platform B running over suitable pulleys J, suspended from the ceiling, and thence through a pulley K, journaled at the top of the piston-rod without the cylinder, the end of the rope being returned upward and secured to the top of a frame L, extending upward from said cylinder. To the rope is secured the weight A ,Which, together with the piston I, overbalances the weight of the platform and the cone carried thereby, for the purpose presently explained. N is a hand-lever pivoted at a, to the frame L, and O is a crank extending from a two-way cock P, seated within the supply-pipe'Q. A pitman Rconnects the lever N with the crank O, and a duct leads from the pipe Q within the cylinder at the bottom thereof. I The construction of this two-way cock with relation to the cylinder and the pipe Q is such that the operation of the handle N alternately admits a supply of water within the cylinder through the pipe Q and then cuts off said supply, permitting the water in the cylinder to flow through the outlet-pipe T. The lever N has at its heel end aprojection U, and secured to the pistonrod is a trip V, which, when the piston is elevated, will engage this heel end U, and thereby force the crank O" downward to shut off the supply of water to the cylinder and establish the communication between the latter and the outlet-pipe, as previously set forth. WV is the relief-exit for the air at the top of the cylinder. tion just described is obviously as follows:

After the cone has been placed on the platform, the operator pulls up the hand-lever N to the position shown in the drawings, and

water being thus led through the two-way cock P within the cylinder the piston will be raised by the water-pressure and the platform B will descend within the tub. During the raising of the piston the trip V will engage with the projection U, which occurs just before the cone is completely submerged, and the lever N will thus be operated by the continued elevation of the piston to shut off the supply of water to the cylinder, and at the same time to establish communication- The operation of the construebetween the latter and the outlet-pipe T. As the water runs out of the cylinder, the piston will sink, and its weight, together with that of the weight A, will raise the platform and cone out of the tub to normal position.

The construction shown at Figs. 5 and 7 is also intended for use in instances when it is not convenient to use steam or other motive power. The apparatus therein shown is very similar to that illustrated at Fig. 1, the platform being suspended and operated from the crank I on the shaft G. The pulley H is loose on this shaft and has sprocket-teeth X projecting circumferentially therefrom. A spring-actuated pawl 12, secured laterally to said pulley, engages with a ratchet Y, secured to the shaft G to establish a rigid connection between said shaft and pulley when the latter is revolved in the direction reverse to that indicated by the arrow. A sprocket-chain Z is run over the pulley H, one end of the chain being connected to a treadle M through the medium of the rope C, the other end having suspended therefrom the weight A, which latter overba-lances the weight of the platform B and the cone carried thereby."

The operation of this apparatus is as follows: After placing the cone upon the platform the operator depresses the treadle M to an extent sufficient to turn the pulley H loosely on the shaft G in the direction indicated by the arrow throughout one complete revolution, thus elevating the weight A. To prevent the shaft G from revolving by friction with the pulley H when the latter is thus turned, a pawl d is pivoted to the hanger F and engages with a ratchet e, rigid on the shaft G, to oppose any movement of said shaft in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 7. The weight, being elevated as above set forth, will, when the treadle is released, descend by gravity, and, by revolving the pulley and shaft in the direction reverse to that indicated by the arrow, will dip and elevate the platform from without the tub to normal posit-ion.

In connection with any of these constructions hereinbefore set forth, a hatforming machine requires the services of but one operator, since, when a hat is formed, he merely removes the cone with the hat thereon, places it on the plat-form B, which is convenient of access, trips the mechanism which effects the dipping, substitutes another cone in the forming-machine, superintends the initial formation of the hat-body, removes a preceding hat-body from the cone which in the meantime has been dipped, folds said body, deposits it on the table, removes the dipped cone from the platform, and has said cone in position to substitute for the cone now in the forming-machine before the latter has finally completed the formation of the succeeding hat-body.

I have shown in the drawings various constructions by means of which the hat-body may be dipped automatically, and many other constructions would naturally suggest themselves to any ordinary mechanic who understood my invention; therefore I do not wish to be limited to the use of any particular mechanism for dipping the hat-body and then holding the same in suspense, the gist of my invention in this respect resting in the broad idea of dipping the hat-body automatically.

I claim 1. In a machine for automatically dipping hat-bodies, the combination, with the conesupporting platform, of a motor and a flexible connection extending between said platform and motor, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a platform suspended over the tub by means of a rope or cable, the latter being attached to mechanism for vertically reciprocating said rope, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In a machine for automatically dipping hats, a mechanism for lowering and elevating a cone-supporting platform, said platform having connected thereto a counterbalancingweight, substantially as set forth.

4. In a machine for dipping hats, a mechanism for lowering and elevating the hatcone-supporting platform, comprising a rotary wheel, a clutch adapted to be opera-ted thereby to dip the hat, and a counterbalancingweight to elevate the same, substantially as set forth.

5. In a machine for dipping hats, a hatcone-supporting platform connected to a dipping and elevating mechanism, comprising a power-driven lowering device and a connecting-weight for elevating the same, substantially as set forth.

6. A mechanism for dipping hats, comprising a platform, a driving mechanism for lowering the same, a counter-weight for elevating the same, said lowering apparatus being adapted to be automatically released at the desired point and the elevating weight brought into action thereby, substantially as set forth.

. In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

SEYMOUR C. PALMER. \Vitnesses:

F. W. SMITH, J r., S. S. W11 LIAMSON. 

